Legislature(2025 - 2026)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
05/05/2025 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB134 | |
| SB147 | |
| SB117 | |
| SB159 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 117 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 134 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 147 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 159 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 159-TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT PROG: CONTRIBUTIONS
2:43:59 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 159 "An Act increasing
contributions to the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development for the State Training and Employment Program."
2:44:20 PM
LAURA ACHEE, Staff, Senator Jesse Bjorkman, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented a summary on SB 159 and
read the following:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Senate Bill 159 was introduced at the request of the
Alaska Department of Labor to better address the need
for workforce development programs in Alaska.
The bill would redirect a portion of the taxes that
Alaska workers already pay into the state's
unemployment trust fund to funding for technical and
vocational education.
Alaska workers would not see any change in the taxes
they pay, and the unemployment insurance trust fund is
more than healthy enough to withstand lowering the
inflow of revenue.
2:45:28 PM
PALOMA HARBOUR, Director, Division of Employment and Training
Services, Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD),
Anchorage, Alaska, testified by invitation on SB 159 and read
the following:
[Original punctuation provided.]
SB 159 would double the State Training and Employment
Program, or STEP, funding available to support
eligible training grants to prepare Alaskans for high-
demand high-wage occupations and help meet the need
for a trained Alaskan workforce.
In the current fiscal year, FY 2025 grant cycle, the
Alaska Workforce Investment Board (AWIB) received a
total of $11 million in STEP applications and was only
able to award $7.1 million. In addition, AWIB has seen
in applications that costs are going up across the
board for grantees, which means STEP dollars are not
going as far as they used to. With so many responsive
and important projects across the state, the FY2025
funding cycle resulted in some tough decisions and no
applicant receiving the full amount of funding
requested.
2:46:50 PM
MS. HARBOUR continued with her testimony of SB 159:
Also, in FY 2025, the Division of Employment and
Training Services (DETS) received a one-time State
Training and Employment Program appropriation of over
$1.3 million to support direct grants to individuals
to assist in the training of Alaskans. With this
increased funding we were able to grow STEP
enrollments by 75 percent year to date as compared to
this same timeframe last year.
With the increased STEP funding proposed in SB 159,
DETS could maintain this growth in training of
Alaskans.
2:47:57 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN held SB 159 in committee.